Every UFC Double Champion [Ranked]

Becoming a UFC champion is one of the greatest achievements that a mixed martial artist can hope for. Despite the huge amount of fighters who train and work towards this dream, there are only a certain number of professionals who can claim this elusive prize. Becoming a UFC champion takes years of dedication and resilience, with the prize being your name in the history books of the sport.

However, there have been professional fighters over the years who didn’t feel fully satisfied with just one belt around their waist. There have been multiple occasions within the organisation where champions have dared to be great and achieve a second belt in another weight class. While not every fighter who has tested themselves in a different division has been successful, 11 individuals can lay claim to having been double champions inside the Octagon. Below, all 11 have been ranked according to the following criteria.

Ranking factors include:

• Titles held simultaneously
• Number of defences made of belts
• Opposition faced
• Overall impact of championship reigns of the sport.

11

BJ Penn

Titles held: Lightweight, Welterweight

BJ Penn occupies 10th place in these rankings. The legendary Hawaiian competed in the UFC across three weight divisions, earning championship gold in two of them. Competing for the first time at UFC 31 in 2001, Penn would get his first taste of title success in January 2004. A first-round submission over Matt Hughes at UFC 46 earned ‘The Prodigy’ the promotion’s welterweight strap.

Crucially, though, he left the UFC four months later and never actually defended the belt, and he wouldn’t win another fight in the weight class for more than six years. However, Penn was more successful down at 155lbs. A win over Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 would earn Penn two-division glory, before he went on to defend his lightweight belt three times.

10

Georges St-Pierre

Titles held: Welterweight, Middleweight

Considered to be Canada’s greatest-ever mixed martial artist, Georges St-Pierre also holds the distinction of becoming champion in two weight divisions.

Fighting for the first time in the UFC in 2004, ‘GSP’ would find himself taking on Matt Hughes for the welterweight title just two years later. The then-25-year-old defeated 45-fight veteran Hughes thanks to a head kick in the second round.

Although he would lose his belt to Matt Sera, he reclaimed it in the rematch before going on to defend the title nine times. In 2013, St-Pierre shocked the MMA world by announcing his retirement and beginning what would become a four-year hiatus from the sport.

However, in 2017, he would put on the promotional gloves one more time to take on Michael Bisping for the middleweight title. To his credit, St-Pierre became a double champion after securing a third-round submission. However, he almost immediately admitted that he had no intention of defending the belt – which is why he ranks relatively low here.

9

Conor McGregor

Titles held: Featherweight, Lightweight

Conor McGregor made history when he became the first-ever champion of two weight divisions simultaneously. The ‘Notorious’ Irishman made his UFC debut in 2013 to begin a six-fight win streak to earn him his first undisputed title opportunity versus Jose Aldo for the featherweight belt.

In one of the most rewatched knockouts of all time, it took McGregor just 13 seconds to dethrone the Brazilian and earn his first undisputed UFC title.

11 months later, McGregor would make the move to lightweight challenge then-champion Eddie Alvarez. The bout would last just two rounds before a TKO victory for McGregor would earn him his second belt and become the first-ever ‘Champ-Champ’ in company history.

Frustratingly, though, for as much as McGregor’s achievements helped to boost the popularity of the sport, he never defended either title – meaning he only places eighth in these rankings. The Irishman has since struggled to rediscover his best form in the Octagon – most recently losing to Max Holloway inside one round after suffering yet another injury following a long-awaited return.

8

Henry Cejudo

Titles held: Flyweight, Bantamweight

‘Triple C’ Henry Cejudo earned two-thirds of his nickname by becoming a UFC double-champion. The Olympic gold medalist arrived in the UFC in 2014 and got his first title shot in just his fifth promotional appearance. However, Cejudo would come up short, losing to Octagon great Demetrious Johnson.

In 2018, two years after their first meeting, Cejudo and Johnson would meet once again. This time, a split-decision victory for Cejudo would see him victorious. After a quick dispatch of TJ Dillashaw in his first title defence, Cejudo would move up to bantamweight, to compete for the vacant title.

Meeting Marlon Moraes for the vacant belt, he would earn a third-round TKO, making him a two-division champion. Counting against Henry in the double champion stakes is the fact that he only defended each title once.

7

Randy Couture

Titles held: Light heavyweight, Heavyweight

The earliest UFC debutant on the list is Randy Couture. Starting his career with the promotion in 1997, ‘The Natural’ would dethrone Maurice Smith at UFC 15.5 in Japan later that year, becoming UFC heavyweight champion in the process.

Despite leaving the company for almost three years, he would regain his heavyweight title in his comeback bout against Kevin Randleman at UFC 28 in late 2000. After losing his heavyweight belt to Josh Barnett in 2002, Couture would move down to win the interim light heavyweight title versus Chuck Liddell.

He would then take on undisputed champion Tito Ortiz, dethroning him via unanimous decision. The victory over Ortiz would make Couture the UFC’s first fighter to ever hold gold in two separate weight classes. Not content with that achievement, Randy would return to heavyweight at the age of 43 to dethrone Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight championship at UFC 68 in March 2007.

6

Ilia Topuria

Titles held: Featherweight, Lightweight

The newest addition to the roll call of UFC double champions, Topuria tore through the featherweight division, reeling off six straight wins after making his UFC debut in October 2020 to land a shot at 145lb champion Alexander Volkanovski. When Ilia’s big moment arrived at UFC 298, he took full advantage.

Knocking the popular Australian out, Topuria proved himself to be one of the deadliest strikers in the sport. The adopted Spaniard followed up that triumph by becoming the first man to stop Max Holloway in what would be his only defence of the featherweight gold.

Realising that his body could not cope with cutting down to 145lbs any longer, Topuria vacated his title and moved up to the lightweight division, where he brutally knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim gold in a second weight class at UFC 317.

Since then, however, Topuria has lost the Lightweight title against Justin Gaethje – suffering his first defeat in the UFC – as the latter secured a fourth round knockout.

5

Alex Pereira

Titles held: Middleweight, Light heavyweight

Joining the UFC in 2021, Alex Pereira is another relatively new entry on the UFC double-champion list. The Brazilian’s kickboxing accolades and impressive early UFC performances earned him a UFC title shot in just his fourth fight.

Competing for middleweight gold, he would take on former kickboxing foe Israel Adesanya, who had yet to taste defeat at 185 lbs in his MMA career. A comeback TKO victory for Pereira would make him 3-0 in combat sports with Adesanya. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ would get his revenge in their immediate rematch.

Having dropped the 185lb crown, ‘Poatan’ moved up a weight class to light heavyweight. Defeating Jan Blachowicz in his divisional debut, he then defeated Jiri Prochazka for the vacant belt, securing double-champion status in just seven bouts. Pereira would go on to establish himself as one of the UFC’s biggest draws, racking up title defences against the likes of Jamahal Hill, Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.

He lost his title to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, but he took the gold back in stunning fashion at UFC 320 before vacating it in shocking fashion in February 2026. Since then, he has also been defeated by Cyril Gane in brutal fashion in as early as the second round.

That said, Pereira’s significance in modern MMA history shouldn’t be underestimated.

4

Jon Jones

Titles held: Light heavyweight, Heavyweight

Jon Jones ranks as one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. The American is the UFC’s youngest-ever champion and the most successful titleholder in the 205lbs division. Jones was just 23 years of age when he took on Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the light heavyweight championship. In the third round, Jones would make history, earning a TKO victory to win the belt.

In his UFC career, Jones defended the light heavyweight strap 14 times, being successful each time. In 2020, Jones decided to take time off to prepare his body for a move to heavyweight. In 2023, he took his chance to fight for the vacant heavyweight belt versus Ciryl Gane.

Just past the two-minute mark of the first round, Jones submitted the Frenchman, securing his double-champion status. To the frustration of many fans, Jones would only defend the heavyweight belt once – against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 – before retiring after opting not to face now former interim champion, Tom Aspinall. As that decision might leave a mark on his legacy, what Jones achieved in the Octagon is a feat few can match.

3

Daniel Cormier

Titles held: Light heavyweight, Heavyweight

Joining the UFC in 2013, Daniel Cormier would fight under the organization’s banner for seven years, until ultimately retiring in 2020. Within this period, his career was filled with prolific wins, fierce rivalries and two undisputed world titles.

Cormier’s first title opportunity would spark his notorious rivalry with Jones. Although he came up short in that 2015 bout, Jones would later vacate the belt, meaning that Cormier would get a second chance to claim the championship gold. A third-round submission over Anthony Johnson would be the first of three light heavyweight title wins.

His impressive form at 205lbs would grant him the opportunity to take on Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight belt. A first-round knockout for Cormier saw him claim an upset victory and make him a simultaneous two-division champion, cementing his legacy in the promotion.

‘DC’ would successfully defend the heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230, before rounding out his career with two consecutive losses to Miocic before he decided to retire. While those final two losses were a huge disappointment to Cormier, they did little to affect his glittering resume.

2

Islam Makhachev

Titles Held: Lightweight, Welterweight

The UFC’s newest double-champion goes straight into second place in these rankings. Makhachev’s win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 may have been his welterweight debut, but the way that the Russian dominated the Australian for five full rounds was particularly impressive.

Add that performance to his lightweight title legacy, where he defended the belt four times before leaving the division without ever losing the title, and Makhachev’s accomplishments become all the more impressive. Since then, he has successfully defended his 170lbs crown, securing victory over Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330.